Secret Service agent Clint Hill brings history intimately and vividly to life as he reflects on his 17 years protecting the most powerful office in the nation. Hill walked alongside Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, and Gerald R. Ford, seeing them through a long, tumultuous era - the Cold War; the Cuban Missile Crisis; the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy; the Vietnam War; Watergate; and the resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard M. Nixon.

Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations

In his most ambitious work to date, Thomas L. Friedman shows that we have entered an age of dizzying acceleration - and explains how to live in it. Due to an exponential increase in computing power, climbers atop Mount Everest enjoy excellent cell phone service, and self-driving cars are taking to the roads. A parallel explosion of economic interdependency has created new riches as well as spiraling debt burdens.

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream: The Most Revealing Portrait of a President and Presidential Power Ever Written

Doris Kearns Goodwin's classic life of Lyndon Johnson, who presided over the Great Society, the Vietnam War, and other defining moments in the tumultuous 1960s, is a monument in political biography. From the moment the author, then a young woman from Harvard, first encountered President Johnson at a White House dance in the spring of 1967, she became fascinated by the man - his character, his enormous energy and drive, and his manner of wielding these gifts in an endless pursuit of power.

Herbert Hoover: A Life

Prize-winning historian Glen Jeansonne delves into the life of our most misunderstood president, offering up a surprising new portrait of Herbert Hoover - dismissing previous assumptions and revealing a political Progressive in the mold of Theodore Roosevelt and the most resourceful American since Benjamin Franklin.

The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War

From master storyteller and historian H. W. Brands, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II.

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House

America's first families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the president and first family.

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush

Based on rigorous research, hours of private interviews, and extraordinary access to Bush's diaries and to his family, Destiny and Power paints a vivid and affecting portrait of the distinctive American life of a man from the Greatest Generation: his childhood in Connecticut, his heroic service in World War II, his entry into the Texas oil business, and his storied rise in politics from congressman to UN ambassador to head of the CIA to 41st president of the United States.

Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: What Your Teachers Never Told you About the Men of The White House

Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the men in the White House - complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts.

John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit

John Quincy Adams was the last of his kind - a Puritan from the age of the Founders who despised party and compromise yet dedicated himself to politics and government. The son of John Adams, he was a brilliant ambassador and secretary of state, a frustrated president at a historic turning point in American politics, and a dedicated congressman who literally died in office - at the age of 80, in the House of Representatives, in the midst of an impassioned political debate.

Whistlestop: Reporting the Stories That Make Campaign History

Whistlestop tells the human story of nervous gambits hatched in first-floor hotel rooms, failures of will before the microphone, and the cross-country crack-ups of long-planned stratagems. At the bar at the end of a campaign day, these are the stories reporters rehash for themselves and embellish for newcomers. In addition to the familiar tales, Whistlestop also remembers the forgotten stories about the bruising and reckless campaigns of the 19th century.

First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies

In one of the most underestimated - and challenging - positions in the world, the first lady of the United States must be many things: an inspiring leader with a forward-thinking agenda of her own; a savvy politician, skilled at navigating the treacherous rapids of Washington; a wife and mother operating under constant scrutiny; and an able CEO responsible for the smooth operation of countless services and special events at the White House.

Under This Roof: The White House and the Presidency - 21 Presidents, 21 Rooms, 21 Inside Stories

In Under This Roof, award-winning White House journalist Paul Brandus weaves together stories of the presidents, their families, the events of their time, and an oft-ignored major character, the White House itself. From George Washington to the current occupant, Barack Obama - the story of the White House is the story of America itself, Brandus writes.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis - that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over 40 years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.

Being Nixon: The Fears and Hopes of an American President

What was it really like to be Richard Nixon? Evan Thomas tackles this fascinating question by peeling back the layers of a man driven by a poignant mix of optimism and fear. The result is both insightful history and an astonishingly compelling psychological portrait of an anxious introvert who struggled to be a transformative statesman.

Alexander Hamilton

Ron Chernow, whom the New York Times called "as elegant an architect of monumental histories as we've seen in decades", now brings to startling life the man who was arguably the most important figure in American history, who never attained the presidency, but who had a far more lasting impact than many who did.

Man of the World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton

The extraordinary postpresidency of William Jefferson Clinton is unlike the second career of any other president. "Bill Clinton" is a global brand, ascending from the dark days of his White House departure to become perhaps the most popular name in the world. Joe Conason explains how that happened, examining Clinton's achievements, his failures, and his motivations and why his outlook on the world continues to inspire and infuriate on a grand scale.

Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill

At age 24 Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament. He believed that to achieve his goal, he had to do something spectacular on the battlefield. Despite deliberately putting himself in extreme danger as a British army officer in colonial wars in India and Sudan and as a journalist covering a Cuban uprising against the Spanish, glory and fame had eluded him.

Bush

In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.

A Torch Kept Lit: Great Lives of the Twentieth Century

In a half century on the national stage, William F. Buckley Jr. achieved unique stature as a polemicist and the undisputed godfather of modern American conservatism. He knew everybody, hosted everybody at his East 73rd Street maisonette, skewered everybody who needed skewering, and in general lived life on a scale, and in a swashbuckling manner, that captivated and inspired countless young conservatives across that half century.

Eisenhower in War and Peace

Author of the best-seller FDR, Jean Edward Smith is a master of the presidential biography. Setting his sights on Dwight D. Eisenhower, Smith delivers a rich account of Eisenhower’s life using previously untapped primary sources. From the military service in WWII that launched his career to the shrewd political decisions that kept America out of wars with the Soviet Union and China, Smith reveals a man who never faltered in his dedication to serving America, whether in times of war or peace.

Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of FDR

A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the 20th century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years; his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised; and his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.

Alter Egos: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and the Twilight Struggle over American Power

New York Times White House correspondent Mark Landler takes us behind the speeches and press conferences, to the Situation Room debates and picnic-table lunches, where Obama and Clinton honed their two competing worldviews: his, cautious, inward-looking, suffused with a sense of limits; hers, muscular, optimistic, unabashedly old-fashioned.

The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy

In this evocative and affectionate memoir, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, the last surviving child of Joe and Rose Kennedy, offers an intimate and illuminating look at a time long ago when she and her siblings, guided by their parents, laughed and learned a great deal under one roof.

Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan

Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe but is escalating in the Pacific, where American soldiers face an opponent who will go to any length to avoid defeat. The Japanese army follows the samurai code of Bushido, stipulating that surrender is a form of dishonor. Killing the Rising Sun takes listeners to the bloody tropical-island battlefields of Peleliu and Iwo Jima and to the embattled Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur has made a triumphant return and is plotting a full-scale invasion of Japan.

Publisher's Summary

The Presidents Club was born at Eisenhower’s inauguration when Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover first conceived the idea. Over the years that followed - and to this day - the presidents relied on, misunderstood, sabotaged, and formed alliances with one another that changed history. The world’s most exclusive fraternity is a complicated place: its members are bound forever because they sat in the Oval Office and know its secrets, yet they are immortal rivals for history’s favor.

Some presidents needed their predecessors to keep their secrets; others needed them to disappear. Most just needed help getting the job done. Truman enlisted Hoover to help him save Europe; Kennedy turned to Ike on Cuba; Nixon sought Johnson’s advice on getting reelected, but then tried to blackmail him; Ford and Carter couldn’t stand each other until they saw what they had in common; Reagan and Clinton relied on Nixon as an off-the-books emissary to Russia; Bush put Clinton and his father to work and they became like father and son; and Obama and Clinton became quiet rivals for the same crown.

Journalists and presidential historians Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy unravel the secret compacts, the shared scars, and the private cease-fires from Hoover to Obama. The Presidents Club will change the way we think about the presidency, for the club itself is an instrument of presidential power.

What the Critics Say

"This is essential reading for anyone interested in American politics.” (Robert Dallek, best-selling author of An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963)

“Forget Rome’s Curia, Yale’s Skull and Bones and the Bilderbergs - the world’s most exclusive club never numbers more than six. Its rules are inscrutable, and its members box the compass politically and stylistically.... Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs have penetrated thick walls of secrecy and decorum to give us the most intimate, revealing, and poignant account of the constitutional fifth wheel that is the ex-presidency. Readers are in for some major surprises, not to mention a history they won’t be able to put down.” (Richard Norton Smith, author of Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation)

“The Presidents Club is magnetically readable, bursting with new information and behind-the-scenes details. It is also an important contribution to history, illuminating the event-making private relationships among our ex-Presidents and why we should do a far better job of drawing on their skills and experience.” (Michael Beschloss, best-selling author of The Conquerers)

I've read MANY historical accounts of the presidencies covered in this book, and did notice a few areas where the accounts here didn't quite jive with others (considered to be authoritative), but I can't speak to the bias that I noticed in other reviews, as I'm not far enough along to have encountered them. I certainly don't see it thus far, and I'm up to the account of Nixon's campaign. I've never written a review prior to finishing a book, but this one made me want to due to the narration. Perhaps it will help someout out.

Argghh! I'm truly surprised that more folks haven't mentioned this, but Bob Walter's inflection and pacing is reminiscent of a really bad John Wayne impression. I'm not terribly picky about narration in general, and thus didn't listen to the sample. I wish I had. I find his pacing, inflection, and emphasis bizarre, and very distracting and annoying. This experience . . . has . . . taught me that I . . . should definitely . . . listen to the . . sample before I . . . purchase . . . a book. I'll certainly avoid him in the future, as it makes the book a tedious listen for me.

Finally, at least thus far, the authors didn't seem to have enough material to warrant a book on the specific topic of the relationships between past and present presidents, and spend a considerable amount of time away from that angle. I understand the need to provide historical context to readers, certainly, but much of the time it feels like the 'presidents club' is more of an aside. I was hoping for more on this specific topic, as it's interesting, and usually an aside in more focused biographies of presidents. However, this doesn't provide much to previous works in this respect. As such, it kind of feels like more of a marketing angle to justify a history of the presidencies of Truman through the present. If you haven't read a lot of political history, that might be more interesting to you, but if you've read a lot, it's mostly a re-hash with a little more emphasis on the presidential relationships.

Just to put this review in context, it is the worst I've ever given, by far--and again, mostly due to the narration, and to a lesser extent, to the paltry amount of new information regarding the presidential relationships.

I would listen to it again, probably after a few years. After more history is revealed about the Presidents, would be interesting to go back and compare what is in the book to things that have come to light since its publication.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Presidents Club?

Three ex-presidents traveling to Egypt for the funeral of Anwar Sadat. Some of it was funny because of the awkwardness but in the end Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter became sort of friends.

Any additional comments?

I found out so many things I never knew. I never knew that Harry Truman barely had any money, what a sensitive spirit Lyndon Johnson had or how close Bill Clinton is to the Bush family. There are many memorable moments in the book, many very touching, even about Richard Nixon.

I found both the subject and the narrative--discussing the relationship of two presidents at a time--engaging. But two things about the book left me unsettled. The first is a tiny factual error about the origin of the name for the Roosevelt Room; if a foreigner who has watched one season of The West Wing can spot an error, odds are that there might be more lurking. The second unpleasant surprise was the almost complete reversal of my feelings towards many of the presidents discussed in this book; I could not shake the uneasiness that the authors seemed overly critical of or a little too eager to pounce on the merest character flaws of Carter, Clinton and even Obama (or at least his staff), while the two Bushes and Ford came out as hopelessly misunderstood men who really were decent men with the best of intentions. The only unsurprising point was how big a crook Nixon really was. I hope more discerning reviewers will shed light on whether the narrative was at all biased. It would be a terrible shame if the authors let their opinions taint the little-known stories about this exclusive club.

The authors told the stories for the US presidents from Truman all the way till now. This book distilled sixty more years history into slightly over 20 hours, while leaving you some very vivid images of each president. You can see the changes of each former president, and stories are told about the frustration of current presidents with fromer presidents. A great listening!

Richard Nixon was my favorite character because of the influence he had on all the presidents after his resignation up to and including Bill Clinton.

Which character – as performed by Bob Walter – was your favorite?

He was outstanding portraying all the characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found myself laughing out loud and weeping all through the book. It just drove my two dogs crazy.

Any additional comments?

I am 66 years old, have always been interested in politics, and a news junkie but nothing you thought you ever knew can prepare you for the revelations in this book. It's one of those "I didn't even know that I didn't know" kind of things. "The President's Club" will blow your mind and you will come away with a new respect for the President be they Republican or Democrat.

If we include The Drift (Rachel Maddow) and Game Change (John Halperin and John Heilmann) with this book, we have an unintended Voter Trilogy for the 2012 elections! I recommend all three for their insight, research and even-handed analysis of our politics in the last decades of the 20th and early years of the 21st centuries. Compelling listening.

The President’s Club is probably the most exclusive club ever formed. The prerequisite is to be a former PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. It has a variable membership as elections and deaths occur. The actions and contributions of these ex-presidents fascinate and surprise the reader (listener}. In some cases their post-presidential contributions were more significant than those made during their tenure in office.

Gibbs and Duffy examine crises faced and lessons learned during their respective presidencies that led to redeeming contributions after they became members of the President’s Club. How did President (General) Eisenhower relate to JFK? To whom did LBJ turn for help about foreign affairs after the assassination? How was Richard Nixon accepted after his resignation? How helpful was The Club when Gerald Ford was catapulted into the presidency after the resignation of Nixon?

These are just a few questions explored. Jimmy Carter and subsequent presidents are all included. Sometimes you will laugh; sometimes you will swear like a sailor. The book is interesting, revealing and infuriating. A great listen!

Would you try another book from Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy and/or Bob Walter?

I would try another book from the authors and would avoid the narrator.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bob Walter’s performances?

It was a bit forced. I couldn't connect with him. I felt at times that he was unsuccessfully trying to do impressions of some of the presidents.

Any additional comments?

I loved the history I learned. As we got to the more current presidents, I could recall many of the events mentioned in the book. It was great to hear some background. I reinforced some opinions I held and changed others. That's a good book. A book that can make you reconsider your previously held beliefs is a powerful tool.

This was fascinating: A look into the interpersonal aspects of being, or having been, one of the most powerful people in the world.

The book covers Hoover through Obama, limiting the subject to interactions between the members. I found lots of insight into the persons, as opposed to the office. I've often thought that anybody who wanted the job of POTUS should automatically be disqualified from it on the basis if arrogance. But obviously, somebody has to do it. It's a job of superhuman requirements, being struggled with by people who are all too human.

I couldn't put this down, so I read it all too quick. I'll give it another listen and add more later.

This is one of the most consistently good audiobooks that I have listened to all year. Fascinating overview of history, great anecdotes and nicely structured.

One problem though, and it's a major one; the narration. I'm sad to say that Bob Walter has the most distracting speaking style (kind of like a cross between Messrs Bean & Spock) that took an awful lot of getting used to. I did to a certain extent, but it jarred, occasionally altered meaning & generally withdrew me from the narrative.

Still a thoroughly enjoyable listen, but could have been even better!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

AnnieG

8/13/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Truman To Obama"

If you are a rabid left winger or a right wing zealot this book is best avoided because it will crush the divisive nonsense rhyming around your head.Eisenhower masterminding early days of LBJ Whitehouse? Gerald Ford leading Bill Clinton defence case or George Bush senior and Bill Clinton becoming as close as father and son.....This book is a fascinating look at the real human relationships between members of this exclusive club.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

J. Nickell

England

4/29/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Goood"

A little fawning in places but very insightful. A kindly insight into the characters behind the politics. Easy to listen to performance.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

takecon

Glasgow

4/13/13

Overall

"The Presidents Club"

The book provided a fascinating insight to the sheer pressure that any US President is under every day of their Presidency. It highlights that the 'buck' does stop at the President's desk and the human travel this causes. It is apparent that no one other than a former President actually understands the pressure to make life or death decisions impacting on hundred of thousands of people if not millions. The book reveal how serving President seek out the advice of their predecessors who are happy to give it. It is clear that it is a job beyond the capabilities of most normal human beings however the existence of 'The Club' has greatly assisted the sitting President and perhaps changed the course of history. To finish the book provided an insight into the way the US political system operate, the frustration and achievements of sitting Presidents and the fascinating relationships between former Presidents. Many of these relationships were/ are very surprising.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Olivier

thouare sur loire, France

9/4/12

Overall

"Seven Decades Of Behind-The-Scenes History"

This book tells the stories of the behind-the-scenes relationships between all post-WWII presidents, from Truman to Obama (plus Herbert Hoover).

For anyone interested in history, this will be a sinful treat. For those less interested in history, it will still be a great source of juicy historical tidbits, which at the very least will shed a new light on the chasm between presidents' public postures and their behind the scenes attitudes.

The book is broken-down into presidential pairs, with almost never more than 2 presidents being covered in one chapter, and the format works really well, a tribute to the author's skill in organizing the flow of the book.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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